Truth or Dare
by DustWriter
Summary: The last day of middle school before a long summer break should be the best day of Katniss' life...unless she picks Dare instead of Truth. Guess who she has to kiss before the end of the day?


**7:15am**

"You have to. It's a dare."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do," Delly Cartwright insisted with a maniacal grin. "Bristel offered you Truth and you took Dare! So now you have to!"

Katniss Everdeen swallowed hard. "Then I want to take Truth."

"Too late," Bristel giggled. "You picked Dare! Go kiss him!"

Katniss glanced fearfully to the front of the bus. Peeta Mellark was passing a stick of gum to a friend across the bus aisle. She peered at the pack. His mouth would taste like watermelon, she dreamed.

"I'm not going to do it," she said out loud. "That's stupid."

"That makes you a chicken!" Delly giggled. She started to make loud clucking noises.

Several rows of students turned around in their seats to look at the source of the cawing.

"Stop it!" Katniss hissed, ducking low in her seat and pulling her backpack in front of her face.

Delly's giggling was loud and shameless.

"Chicken, chicken," she sing-songed.

"Delly," Bristel warned. "Okay, Katniss. I'll make you a deal."

Katniss poked her head up from behind her protective book bag.

"You don't have to do it right now," Bristel smirked. "But you do have to kiss him. Before the end of the day…Today." She leaned over ominously. "On the mouth."

Katniss whimpered.

"It's the last day of school anyway," Delly chuckled. "You won't see him until high school starts. And what if he goes to private school? Then you'd never even see Peeta again."

That thought was more awful than the thought of kissing him in front of the whole bus. Katniss frowned and watched his profile.

"You think he'll go to private school?" she mourned.

"Dunno," Delly shrugged. "Heard his brother tell my brother they're moving houses this summer maybe." She eyed Katniss. "Why? Do you like him?" she teased.

"Of course not!" Katniss pouted, hugging her backpack to her.

But even she knew it was a lie.

**8:35am**

She rested her chin on her palm and tried not to daydream during the filmstrip. She was too excited for summer vacation and too nervous about starting high school. At least she could hang out with Gale if she made a fool of herself as a freshman. It would probably help if other kids saw her hanging out with a sophomore.

Her eyes wandered over to the last row by the windows.

He was drawing in his notebook. She wondered what he was drawing. He was so good in art class.

His eyebrows furrowed and his lashes were pale. He bit the tip of his tongue while he worked. She gazed longingly. She wished she could walk over and just kiss him. But there were other students. And what if he thought she was gross or stupid? He was always nice, but he was to everyone.

He looked up into her eyes.

She knocked her textbook off her desk scrambling to look away. The kids around her jumped as the heavy book smacked the floor and made the sound of a shotgun blast.

"Miss Everdeen!" gasped the instructor. "Please be more careful."

"Yes, ma'am," Katniss mumbled. She bent over her desk and retrieved the book, humiliated at the snickers around her. She wished she had cut class.

She glanced over at him.

He was smiling at his notebook and blushing.

She dropped her head onto her desk and prayed for a lightning bolt to hit her before the end of the day.

**10:45am**

"Is it true?" gasped Madge Undersee before Katniss could even sit down at the cafeteria table. "Did Bristel dare you to kiss Peeta Mellark today?"

"How did you hear about that?" Katniss panicked.

"Leevy. She overheard Delly telling Annalise what happened on the bus this morning."

Katniss felt sick. "How many people know about this?"

Madge fidgeted with her pigtails. "Not many. Just…the girls in the gym locker room…"

Katniss choked on her pretzel. "Oh my God." She buried her face in her palms. "Why didn't I pick Truth?" She peeked through her fingers. "What am I going to do?"

Madge chewed her bottom lip. "Catch him between classes?"

"In the hallways?" Katniss was horrified.

"Or maybe on the bus home?"

"Mom is picking me up for ice cream after school. Prim had her elementary school graduation today," Katniss moaned. "Maybe she can drive me to Canada and just leave me there so I never have to face school again."

"What if you just told him you had to on a dare?"

"How would that make it any better?" Katniss sighed. "Then I'll look like I'm too chicken to kiss a boy without a dare."

"You are too chicken to kiss a boy without a dare," snickered Delly as she dropped down next to Katniss. "Soooo…what's the plan?" she hinted devilishly.

"Get hit by a bus before the end of the day," Katniss commiserated.

"You should go over there right now," Madge said. "Before his friends get here."

Katniss turned around in her seat.

Peeta was sitting down alone at his usual table, just twenty feet away. His notebook was out again and he was scribbling onto the paper while he waited for his friends to arrive. She watched a faint smile ghost over his lips while he drew. She really could just walk over…

She climbed to her feet on trembling legs.

"Go for it!" whispered Delly.

"Hurry!" squeaked Madge.

She stumbled over chair legs jutting out into the aisle. Her heart was pounding so loud she didn't think she could breathe. The whole world seemed to be pressing down on her, trying to crush her into a diamond.

She was suddenly there, standing across the table from him. Wait, she realized. I'm on the wrong side of the table…

"Hey Kat." Vick Hawthorne shoved her to the side as he unceremoniously dropped his bag onto the bench seat across from Peeta.

Peeta glanced up was startled to see Katniss staring at him. "Oh, hi," he smiled.

She thought she was going to die.

"What's up?" Vick asked, yanking a Dr Pepper out of his wrinkled lunch bag.

"Um."

Peeta looked at her. Vick twisted and looked at her. Her mouth went dry.

"Um."

She stared at them. They stared back.

"Is Gale going to camp this summer?" she blurted out.

"Soccer camp? Yeah, I think just two weeks this time," Vick shrugged. "He's talking about getting a summer job so he can take some girls out," he winked at Peeta.

Peeta smiled shyly. He glanced back up at Katniss.

"Um." She desperately tried to think of something to say.

He smiled at her.

Her knees buckled.

"I should…go…let you eat. I should go and let you eat," she sputtered. She turned and ran back to her table.

"I didn't see any action," Delly complained.

"Vick showed up!" Katniss cried out. "He'd tell Gale and then all of the high school would know before I even get there!"

Delly sighed noisily. "Well," she tapped her watch. You have two hours, Everdeen. Better get on those lips or practice your chicken dance."

**11:45am**

She threw the softball aimlessly towards Leevy.

"Ouch! Katniss! That nearly hit my face!"

"Sorry!" she called, embarrassed. The gym instructor gave the class a withering glance.

"Kids, just because it's the last day doesn't mean you can slack off! Everdeen, five laps. Go!"

Katniss groaned and tossed down her glove. She kept her head down and jogged to the track surrounding their shabby playing field. She started to run.

The wind pulled at her hair and she inhaled the fresh summer filled air. She breathed deeply. She sped up and leaned into the turn of the track and found herself smiling as she looped back to the fieldhouse housing the locker rooms. Running alone on a beautiful day was just what she needed to clear her head.

She closed her eyes and inhaled as she passed the fragrant honeysuckle bush planted by the fieldhouse doors.

She ran smack into the boy exiting the locker room.

"Oof!" She felt her feet leave the ground and tangle with his as her body cartwheeled over him. She landed hard on the track and yelped.

"Everdeen!" yelled the gym teacher. "Pay attention!"

She blinked up at the blue sky in a daze. The teacher was still yelling.

"Mellark, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think so," groaned a voice by her ear.

She sat up too quickly and winced at her skinned elbow. She whipped around to see him slowly sitting up and rubbing his head where it had hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" he asked, wincing as he turned to look at his assailant.

She nodded in misery.

"Did you trip?" he asked.

"Um. Yes."

He nodded. "Be careful; this track is crumbling." He stood up and to her horror and surprise, he reached down to take her hands and pull her to her feet.

She stood inches in front of him. She blinked at his wide blue eyes.

She held her breath.

She closed her eyes and leaned in.

"Are you dizzy?"

"What?" she blurted out, hauling her hands away from his. "No. I'm fine. I'm fine," she stammered, brushing off her gym shorts.

"Okay," he frowned. He moved his hand to her hair. Time stopped as his fingers brushed over her locks. He smiled a bit.

He brought his hand back to her eyes.

"You had a flower in your hair," he smiled, extending the honeysuckle bud to her.

"I love how these smell," she said lamely, taking the flower and holding it in her palm.

"They are beautiful, aren't they?" he murmured, gazing at the flower she held.

Time stopped.

"I have to run," she broke in.

"Okay."

"Yeah." She didn't move.

"Bye?" he asked.

She took off and slowly started to jog the length of the track. She saw his eyes following her as she glanced back. He smiled to himself as he hurried over to the baseball field.

She tucked the flower back into her hair.

**12:50**

_Just do it._

She stood at the bottom of the stairs she was supposed to ascend for her final class of middle school.

He was at the top of the stairs, heading down.

Straight towards her.

He was laughing at something Fisk Robbins was saying and his eyes were shining.

_Oh God, I hope they're not talking about gym class._

He was three steps from her.

She licked her lips. She was sure she was sweating.

"Hi, Katniss!" Fisk called out loudly.

She jumped and saw a handful of students glance over. Great, now everyone's watching.

"Are you feeling all right?" Peeta asked her.

"What?"

"From the fall," he reminded her.

"Oh. Yes. I'm fine. Sorry."

"It's okay," he shrugged. "My brothers are much rougher when they knock me down," he grinned. She thought she was going to faint at his beautiful smile.

"Are you going to try out for the track team?" he asked her.

"What?"

"In high school. Are you going to run track?"

"Um. I guess? I hadn't thought about it."

"Oh. I'm going to go out for wrestling."

She blinked. "Okay."

He blushed. "I guess you didn't need to know that," he murmured.

"No, that's exciting!" she shouted. He opened his eyes wide. "I mean, interesting. Good?" she asked weakly.

They stared at each other. Fisk raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we should go to class, Peeta," he hinted, giving him a slight shove. "Last class."

"Last chance," Peeta sighed.

"What?" Katniss panicked.

"What?"

"I have to go!"

She ran up the stairs to her classroom.

**1:55pm**

The students were streaming out of the doors, laughing and cheering as they ran out into the summer.

Katniss dragged her bag down the hallway.

"Someone's going to trip, Everdeen!" called the librarian. "Pick up your bag."

Katniss groaned a response and hauled the near-empty bag onto her shoulders. She trudged slowly to the lobby.

Maybe it wouldn't matter if the whole school knew she was supposed to kiss him today, she prayed.

Maybe it would be fine to live with that disappointment. Maybe she could fall into an open manhole cover and live in the sewers for the rest of her life.

She stumbled out of the double doors. A cluster of girls from gym class were standing around the entrance, their faces expectant and excited. Madge was biting her nails by the water fountain. Delly was waiting.

"Oh, hi Katniss. Look who I found?" she smiled sweetly. "Peeta, you know Katniss?"

"We've run into each other before," he laughed. Katniss wanted to throw up.

"Peeta was just telling me the most interesting story," Delly grinned.

"Well, it's not that interesting," he frowned.

"He's moving to Woodson Halls. Isn't that where you live, Kat?"

Her eyes popped open wide. "Yes," she squeaked.

"Really?" Peeta's smile brightened. "Where?"

"On Clarkview," she whispered. "In the townhouses."

"Oh. I'll be over on Denver. Is that nearby?"

She swallowed against the panic. "Three streets."

"Cool," he smiled. She suddenly feared she might wet her pants in terror. He was going to live three streets from her. And she was going to have to face him every day on the bus to school.

"Well," he coughed. "We'll have a pool at this house. You should come over. And…go swimming. Sometime. This summer."

Her stomach tightened.

"Um." He looked at his notebook.

She tried to breathe.

Delly stared her down.

He pulled a sheet from his notebook. "I made you-"

She threw herself forward and landed awkwardly on his mouth. He jumped in surprise, so she pulled him to her by his shoulders. His muffled cry died as she pressed her lips to his.

The squeals from the surrounding girls and shouts of surprise from the skateboarding boys on the patio seemed to die away. She could hear birds and feel the sunshine on her shoulders.

He still tasted like watermelon.

She pulled back and blinked. He stared at her dumbfounded.

She turned and bolted for the parking lot.

She saw her mother's dented minivan in the distance and ran as hard as she could for the door. Her backpack bounced on her back and seemed to urge her to run faster. She could see her little sister wearing the paper crown Katniss had made for her to wear at the elementary school graduation ceremony.

She threw open the door and her mother jumped.

"Kat, you scared me! Is everything all right?"

"Yes!" she nearly yelled. "Let's go get ice cream!"

"Ice cream!" cheered Primrose, hopping up and down in her seat. "Kat, I think your friends are waving goodbye..."

Katniss glanced over to the school. Delly was running down the sidewalk laughing and waving towards the van, Madge was close behind her. She could see Peeta was dazedly stumbling towards the bus with a small cluster of boys jumping and hooting behind him.

"Please let's just go!"

"Okay, calm down," her mother smiled, misunderstanding. "It's just ice cream."

"Just ice cream?" Prim protested.

They pulled off and Katniss focused her thoughts on rainbow sprinkles and hot fudge.

**7:15pm**

The sun was still bright in the sky. It felt like mid-afternoon. She had no idea how she was going to sleep that night. She leaned back in her father's old hammock and twirled the honeysuckle blossom she'd kept from gym class.

How was she going to face high school? While they were the ice cream parlor, she had suggested her mother send her to military school, but her mother laughed it off as high school jitters and gave Katniss the cherry off her milkshake.

And now he would live three streets down from her and she'd have to face her humiliation every day.

She hated, hated, _hated_ Bristel Andrews and Delly Cartwright. She was trying to think of a good way to exact her revenge when the doorbell rang.

"Kat, can you get that? I'm drying the dishes!" her mother called out from the kitchen.

"Can't Prim get it?"

"She's in the tub. And besides, I asked you, young lady!"

Katniss hauled herself to her feet and stomped gracelessly through the house. She tucked the honeysuckle behind her ear and threw open the door.

"Hi."

It was like being hit by a car. Why on earth would he come see her?

She stared.

"Um," Peeta coughed. He cleared his throat. "Hi."

"Uhhh?" was all she could say.

"I, um." He frowned.

"It was a dare!" she blurted out. "I had to or Delly was going to call me a chicken all throughout high school."

His shoulders sagged. "Oh."

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Oh."

She stared at her bare feet. Blades of loose grass were stuck to her toes.

"I made you a picture." He was looking at his shoelaces. "I meant to give it to you earlier. Um. I. Um."

He held out a folded piece of notebook paper. He stuck out his arm towards her.

She slowly took the piece of paper and unfolded it.

It was a sketch of her from class that day. When she'd been leaning onto her palm, dreaming of summer, before she saw him and knocked over her book. He had been drawing her.

"It's really good," she whispered.

"Thanks," he mumbled. He was looking at the flower she'd tucked behind her ear.

She stared. The tip of his nose was red. "Thank you. I…I love it."

"You're welcome."

"Um." She cleared her throat. "Um."

He looked at her for a moment. She thought he might have looked hopeful.

"I should go," he finally said. He paused. "Okay, I'm going to go."

He turned around and took a step down the brick stairs to the bike leaning against the lamp post on

the sidewalk.

"Um."

He turned around. She stammered. "Thank you. For...the flower. And the picture. And...um." She stopped.

He nodded and continued down the walkway.

She took one step back inside. She closed the door. She stared at the picture.

The knock was back at the door almost immediately. She threw open the door.

He kissed her. She tasted like cake batter ice cream and maraschino cherries.

"That wasn't a dare," he whispered. He blushed and grinned and ran back to his bike.

She was beaming long after his bike disappeared around the corner.

"Mom!" she called out.

"Yes?"

"I need a new bathing suit!" she hollered as she ran towards the kitchen. She smiled at her drawing.

"I'm going to go swimming a lot this summer."

The End.


End file.
